Otoscopes are examples of diagnostic instruments commonly available to medical practitioners and caregivers for purposes of conducting a comprehensive patient examination. More specifically, otoscopes typically utilize a contained light source, such as an incandescent bulb or LED, which emits light through a distal insertion portion of an instrument head that is secured onto a handle portion of the instrument. A disposable speculum tip element is attached in releasable fashion to the exterior of the distal insertion portion, the tip element being insertable to a predetermined distance within the ear canal of the patient. A user then views the ear canal and tympanic membrane of the patient, as illuminated by the contained light source, through an eyepiece which is disposed at the proximal end of the instrument head.
Certain versions of otoscopes further include optical systems that are provided within the instrument head to better enable visualization of the target. These otoscopes also include an eyepiece at the proximal end of the instrument head to enable viewing.
Additionally, there are also known digital or electronic instrument versions that utilize an electronic imaging assembly contained within or proximate to the instrument head in order to obtain a digitized image that can be displayed or otherwise viewed in lieu of an eyepiece, either at the instrument or remotely, such as through use of a display. Though attendant to the above problem, these latter designs are relatively complex and considerably more expensive than their optical instrument counterparts.
In the case of known non-digital diagnostic instruments and particularly those having optical systems, useful visualization of the target requires that the user place their eye directly at the eyepiece portion of the instrument, therefore requiring the caregiver to be stationed extremely close to the patient. Caregivers and patients may each encounter comfort and/or convenience issues based on the acute level of proximity between the caregiver and the patient. This latter problem is not only encountered with users of otoscopes, but is also commonly experienced by users of other portable or hand-held medical diagnostic instruments.
As noted above, there are also presently available digital or electronic otoscope versions utilizing a contained electronic imager that receives the image signals from a target of interest. The received image can be transmitted to a computer, an instrument display and/or other apparatus such as a mobile computing device. As noted, however, these diagnostic instruments are considerably more expensive than their optical device counterparts. As a result, there is a general need in the field of diagnostic medicine to provide an optical diagnostic instrument that enables adequate viewing of a target area of interest, but without requiring intimate contact between the patient and the caregiver.